Industry Lead-Battery-Recycling Plant Ordered Partially Shut Down

INDUSTRY, CA - State regulators ordered a partial shut-down of an Industry lead-battery-recycling plant, saying operators failed to install a leak-detection system in a hazardous-waste containment building, health officials said Friday.

Quemetco was ordered to take the containment building out of service and submit a plan to the state Department of Toxic Substances Control for correcting the violation and a schedule for completing the work.

"The leak-detection system is a layer of sand on a thick plastic material located between the concrete floor and concrete foundation," according to DTSC documents released this week. "Quemetco's violation stems from the lack of a way to monitor whether leaks are occurring through the floor and into the layer of sand. Tests performed last week during a scheduled inspection determined the system did not comply with regulatory requirements."

Quemetco officials could not be reached for immediate comment.

Angelo Bellomo, deputy director for health protection at the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, said the agency is working to test properties near the plant at 720 S. Seventh Ave.

"We are currently analyzing soil and water samples immediately beyond the facility's perimeter to assess potential contamination from the plant," Bellomo said. "We will work closely with DTSC and our partner agencies to determine next steps and to ensure this site receives the urgent action needed to protect health."

County health officials have established a community-information hotline for residents near the plant, at (213) 738-3232.

County Supervisor Hilda Solis called on the state to expedite testing of properties near the facility "and to seriously consider expanding testing beyond the quarter-mile radius."

In May, the South Coast Air Quality Management District ordered Quemetco to reduce arsenic emissions from the facility and to notify 12,000 residents near the plant of the risk of cancer from arsenic exposure.

--City News Serivce, photo via Shutterstock